Foot-operable attachment for trombones



y 1941- w. H. STRANE 2,241,750

FOOT-OPERABLE ATTACHMENT FOR TROMBONES- Filed Aug. 20, 1940 IIIWulllllll [/7 men 7 0/- Patented May 13, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEFOOT-OPERABLE ATTACHMENT FOR TROMBONES 12 Claims.

This invention, a foot-operable attachment for trombones, is designedfor novelty acts and particularly for persons who have lost the use oftheir hands or who have one or both hands missing.

There are many persons who are thus alilicted and who have a desire toplay musical instruments but who are unable to manipulate the controls,and this invention provides a means whereby they will be enabled to playthe trombone with a high degree of skill; in fact, it is possiblethrough the medium of this invention for a person who has neither of hisarms and. only one foot, to play the trombone.

As to novelty acts in theatres, a person having both feet and both handscan learn to play several instruments simultaneously, such as piano andtrombone; trombone and trap drums; trombone, violin and base drum, andvarious other combinations: To illustrate; for the trombone,

violin and base drum combination, the mall for the base drum is operatedby one foot, the slide of the trombone is operated by the other foot,and the violin is played by the use of both hands.

The objects of the invention are as follows:

First; to provide a foot-operable device for trombones in which specificmovements of the foot of the player moves the slide of the trombone toits various positions.

Second; to provide a device of the type outlined with which a person whois devoid of the use of their hands can operate the slide of thetrombone by the use of one of their feet.

Third; to provide a device as outlined in which a trombone can beoperated by one foot so as to leave the other foot and the hands free toplay other instruments simultaneously.

Fourth; to provide a device as outlined which can be mounted incooperative relation to a person playing a piano so as to permitsimultaneous playing of both instruments.

In describing the invention reference will be made to the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional elevation through the invention and appliedto a grand piano which is indicated in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the trombone support and corresponds to a viewtaken on line 33 of i Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line 4'4 of Fig. 1 andillustrates the slide-operating foot treadle.

" Fig; 5'diagrammatically illustrates fragmentarily a modification ofthe operating connection between the slide and treadle when the deviceis not intended for operation in connection with a piano.

The invention consists of a trombone supporting frame H), a support I lfor the trombone supporting frame; a slide-operating foot treadle l2,and an operative connection l3 between the treadle I2 and slide [4 ofthe trombone l5.

The drawing illustrates an attachment which is specifically designed foruse in connection with a grand piano I6 in which the treadle frame I! islocated under the piano, and the main supporting pedestal is offset toclear the center le or pedal drop of the piano. This type of attachmentis arranged for simultaneous playing of the piano and the trombone.

The trombone I5 is secured onto the trombonesupporting frame by suitablemeans such as the clamps indicated at l9 with the mouthpiece of thetrombone suitably positioned for convenience in playing while the pianokeyboard is being fingered, indicated at 2 I.

The trombone supporting frame consists of side members 22 and a headmember 23. A sheave 24 is rotatably mounted in the frame near the headend 23, and the toe end 25 of the frame is detachably secured to thepedestal arm 26 as indicated at 21.

The foot treadle supporting frame I! is detachably secured tothe-pedestal I8 as indicated at 28 and the treadle I2 is pivotallysupported in this frame at 29.

The head end of the trombone supporting frame is supported by a pedestal30 which is suitably attached to the piano.

The operative connection between the slide of the trombone and thetreadle consists of a flexible element such as a cord or cable 3| oneend of which is attached to the cross-bar 32 of the slide I4 asindicated at 33 and which then passes about the sheave 24 and thenceunder and about the sheave 34, thence about the sheaves 35 and 36,thence about the sheaves 31 and 38, with the other end of the elementattached to the toe end 39 of the treadle; a suitable key 40 such as isused on some types of string instruments being provided for adjustingthe tension of the cable and the relative adjustment of slide andtreadle.

A second cord or cable 4| is attached to the return bend of the slide asindicated at 42 and passes over a twin sheave 24 and thence under thesheave 43, thence over sheave 44 and sheave 45 to the free end 39 of thetreadle where it is adjustable by means of the key 46.

A heel cup 41 and a toe cup 48 are mounted on the treadle in the regionof the pivotal mounting for the treadle. The heel cup positions the.foot of the musician and the toe cup forms a clasp so that the musiciancan freely control the operation of the treadle for both, up and downmovements for opposite movements of the slide of the trombone.

It will be noted that when the treadle is depressed by the toe the slidewill be drawn out, and when the treadle is raised by the toe the slidewill be retracted, and that the degree of movement of the treadlegoverns the relative position of the slide, so that the slide isoperated by the foot of the musician in the same manner as iscustomarily done by hand.

The design of the supporting frame can be modified to suit anycombination of instruments as well as for armless musicians. For armlessplayers the arm 26 can be omitted and the support 30 can be extended tothe floor. With such an arrangement the operative connection issimplified in that the cords 3! and 4| both pass over the tail sheave 24and thence about the sheave 31, and respectively about sheaves 38 and45, thus eliminating the sheaves 35, 23, and it, since the right-angleruns of the cord are eliminated.

It will be understood that the operative connection is not limited to aflexible element, since a linkage could be substituted, however thecords have proven the most satisfactory and are therefore preferred inview of their egligible weight.

It will be understood that variations in construction and arrangement ofparts, which variations are consistent with the appended claims, may beresorted to without detracting from the spirit or scope of theinvention, or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim:

1. A trombone slide operating device comprising a support for supportinga trombone in playing position relative to the keyboard of a piano; afoot treadle carried by said support, and operative connections betweenthe treadle and said slide for operation of the slide in conformity withopposite movements of the treadle.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1 in which said treadle has a heelpositioning element and a toe clasp for maintaining an exact position ofthe foot of a player on the treadle for precise and complete control ofthe slide with varying movements of the treadle.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1 in which said operative connectionscomprises cords having each one end respectively attached to thetrombone slide and the other of their ends respectively attached to thefree end of the treadle with the respective cords operating over sheaveslocated in opposite relations to said free end.

4. A foot-operable attachment for controlling and operating the slide ofa trombone comprising; a supporting frame and means for attaching atrombone to the top thereof and in operative relation for playing theinstrument; a foot treadle having a toe clasp and a heel-positioningelement and pivotally supported by said frame in a plane below said top,and having a free end beyond said toe clasp; and an operative connectionbetween said free end of said treadle and the slide for operating theslide in conformity with varying operations of said treadle.

5. A foot-operable attachment for controlling and operating the slide ofa trombone comprising; a frame including a support and means forsecuring a trombone th reto in playing position; a foot treadlepivotally mounted in said frame below said support and having a freeend, a heel positioning element, and a toe clasp, for positive controlof the treadle; a flexible element for attachment to the slide of atrombone and extend ing in opposite directions and operating over asystem of sheaves and fixed to the free end of said treadle andapproaching said free end from opposite directions for oppositemovements of the slide created by opposite movements of the treadle.

6. A foot-operable attachment for control and operation of the slide ofa trombone comprising; a frame including a support and securing meansfor securing a trombone, and first and second sheaves mountedrespectively at the respective ends of the support and consisting of ahead end and a toe end; a foot treadle pivotally mounted adjacent one ofits ends in said frame in a plane below said support and having itsother end free, and a toe clasp and a heel positioning cup mounted onsaid treadle in the vicinity of the pivotal mounting; a third sheavemounted in said frame in a plane below said free end, and a fourthsheave mounted in said frame and located in a plane above said free end;and two flexible bands having their respective ends attached to saidfree end and attachable to the slide of a trombone and operatingrespectively about said first, second and third sheaves, and, about saidsecond, third and fourth sheaves, for operations of the slide inconformity with up and down operations of said foot treadle.

'7. An attachment for controlling and operating th slide of a slideinstrument comprising; a sup port and means for securing the instrumentin playing position; a frame for said support; a foot treadle having .afree end and mounted in said frame below said support and having aheel-positioning element and a toe clasp for positive control of thetreadle for vertical reciprocatory movement; said treadle being pivotedto said frame with the pivot located in close relation below saidheel-positioning element and toe clasp; sheaves mounted at each end ofsaid support and lower and upper sheaves mounted in said framerespectively in a plane below and above said treadle; and two flexiblebands op erating respectively over the sheaves at the respective ends ofsaid support and over the respective lower and upper sheaves andconnected at one end to the free end of said treadle and with the otherend attachable to the slide, whereby opposite movements of the treadlecreates opposite movements of the slide.

8. A structure as defined in claim 7 in which said support is attachedat its rear to said frame; a supporting member for the forward endsupportable on the front portion of a grand piano; said frame includinga standard extending to a plane greater than the height of the piano andto which said support is attached, and a base having a height less thanthe plane of the underside of the piano, to provide for locating theinstrument and the treadle in operative relation and in suitablerelation to the keyboard of the piano for simultaneous playing of theinstrument and the piano.

9. An attachment for operating the slide of a slide instrumentcomprising; a support having a front end and a rear end and securingmeans for securing an instrument to the support in playing position; astandard having said rear end attached to and supported adjacent thelipper end thereof; a base spaced below said support and having saidstandard extending upwardly from the rear end thereof; a foot treadlehaving a free end, and having its non-free end pivoted at the front endof said base and having a heel-positioning element and a toe clasp forpositive positioning of the foot of a player and positive actuation ofsaid treadle for vertical reciprocation; and operable connectionsbetween said free end and the slide for substantially horizontalreciprocation of the slide.

10. A structure as defined in claim 9; said base being ofiset from thevertical relative to said support to clear the pedal drop of a grandpiano when the support is supported on the top of the piano and insubstantially mid-position of the keyboard and the base extends underthe piano.

11. A structure as defined in claim 9; said operative connectionscomprising; flexible elements each having one end attached to said freeend and the other end attachable to a slide; sheaves mounted at each endof said support and an upper sheave mounted in a plane above, and alower sheave mounted in a plane below the pivotal end of said treadle;said flexible elements respectively passing about the sheaves at therespective ends of said support and continuing thence to said free end,whereby reverse operations of said treadle creates reverse operations ofsaid flexible elements for reciprocation of the slide.

12. A structure as defined in claim 9; said operative connectionscomprising; a front sheave mounted at the front end and .a rear sheaveand a secondary sheave mounted at the rear end of said support; an uppersheave mounted in a plane above and a lower sheave mounted in a planebelow the pivotal plane of said treadle; two cables each having one endattached to the free end of said treadle and respectively passing aboutsaid lower and upper sheaves and about said secondary and front sheave,and about said rear sheave; the other end of cable having attachingmeans for attachment to a slide; the attachment for the said one end ofeach cable comprising an adjusting device mounted adjacent the end ofsaid free end and manually adjustable for ad usting the tension of eachcable individually.

WILEY H. STRANE.

